SOFIA: Bulgarian authorities said yesterday they had detained three more people on suspicion of plotting to destabilise the country’s banking system by spreading false information about the health of its commercial banks.
The arrests, which follow the detention of two men on Saturday on the same grounds, are part of a criminal investigation launched after depositors on Friday rushed to withdraw savings from a second bank in the space of a week.
The run on First Investment Bank, Bulgaria’s third largest lender — which bankers and economists say is well-capitalised — prompted the central bank to warn of a deliberate and systematic attack on the banking sector.
Last weekend, the central bank took over Bulgaria’s fourth largest lender, Corporate Commercial Bank (Corpbank), after customers, who were rattled by online and media reports of suspect deals involving the bank, rushed to withdraw their savings. The bank has denied any wrongdoing.
The run on Corpbank has shone a light on weak economic governance in Bulgaria which joined the European Union in 2007 but remains its poorest member state and one of its most corrupt.
On Friday, leaders of the main political parties set October 5 as the date for a snap parliamentary election, putting an end to weeks of political uncertainty that has coincided with the bank runs.
Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski’s Socialist-led minority government is expected to resign shortly. In power for barely a year, it has been plagued from the start by mass street protests and allegations of graft and has been unable to enact reforms urgently needed to revive a sluggish economy.
Party leaders were due to begin consultations with President Rosen Plevneliev at 2pm (1100 GMT) yesterday on how to maintain political and economic stability until the election.
The president, a largely ceremonial figure who nevertheless has an important role to play at times of political instability, is expected to approve the election date. He may also appoint a caretaker administration once the Oresharski cabinet resigns.
Reuters
